DON'T BREATHE (2016) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

DON'T BREATHE (2016) movie

Genre               |   Suspense Thriller

Classification   |   MA 15+

Running time   |   88 minutes

Released         |   1 September 2016

cast

Stephen Lang ... The Blind Man
​Jane Levy ... Rocky
Dylan Minnette ... Alex
​Daniel Zovatto ... Money

director

​Fede Alvarez

writer

​Fede Alvarez ... (written by) &
Rodo Sayagues ... (written by)

cinematographer

​Pedro Luque

music

​Roque Baños

film editor

​Eric L. Beason
Louise Ford
Gardner Gould

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box office result

Worldwide             $​157,100,845  

Australia                 $​​​3,711,259 ​

North America        $​​​​​​​89,217,875

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the best dialogue

The Blind Man: There is nothing a man cannot do once he accepts the fact that there is no god.

The Blind Man: Get out of my house!

Money: Just because he's blind doesn't mean he's a saint, bro.

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DON'T BREATHE (2016) IMAGES

Images

Posters

Images

Posters

DON'T BREATHE (2016) STORY SYNOPSIS

​A trio of reckless thieves breaks into the house of a wealthy blind man, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect heist.  They’re wrong. 

DON'T BREATHE (2016) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 31 August 2016
​Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Repulsive. Ugly. Stupid. Deranged. So many negative words could be used to describe Fede Alvarez’s DON'T BREATHE… It's hard to believe that a film with such a questionable cast of characters could have anything to recommend it, but, despite its nasty core, DON'T BREATHE is a genuinely good thriller. Sure, there’s plot holes the size of Texas, but it’s the concept of being caught doing the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time that raises Alvarez's latest feature film to a level one-step above the typical horror genre fare.

Despite the obvious limitations of the premise, DON'T BREATHE takes every opportunity available to it in an attempt to stretch the plot to breaking point. Take the trio of small-time burglars, all of whom are none too bright. There’s Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto). Rocky and Money are looking to escape the hard-bitten existence of the once-great Motor City, Detroit. Alex, on the other hand, simply suffers from unrequited love for Rocky and is willing to do anything for her. That includes stealing the keys to houses from his father’s security company to help her and Money pull-off break and enters in what’s left of the city's well-to-do.

Unfortunately for this trio, their misguided beliefs and intentions lead them to seriously underestimate the capability of their latest “mark”; a cash-rich blind man who lives all alone in one of the city’s  abandoned neighbourhoods.

DON'T BREATHE takes its time to get going and the viewer is forced to sit through a combination of convoluted and logic-defying actions by our trio of young burglars before Stephen Lang’s “Blind Man” crystallises the plot and gives the film a creepy edginess. Take, for example, the manner in which the threesome break into “Blind Man’s” home; by smashing a lower story bathroom window. The guy may be blind, but nowhere in the production notes did it say he was deaf!

Then there’s the general carry-on that goes on for the first few minutes Rocky, Money and Alex are inside the house. They’ve broken into this guy’s home on the assumption that he has several hundred thousand dollars in cash just lying around for them to steal. They've got no plan how to find it and, in their wisdom, try and gas the guy in his bed so they can roam around for any length of time until they stumble upon the money that no one is really sure is there! (At this point in the film, it’s difficult to believe the positive word-of-mouth that came about as a result of a number of festival screenings DON'T BREATHE has had.)

It's at the exact moment that Stephen Lang’s “Blind Man” appears in the doorframe of his lounge room that DON'T BREATHE goes from being run-of-the-mill to creepy, thrilling and disturbing. Lang had no problems demonstrating his hard-ass credentials as AVATAR’s villain but he takes it to a whole new level in this film. What’s especially impressive is that he does it with minimal dialogue, without the use of his eyes and in very limited light.

The bulk of the story plays out in the hours between 2 am and daybreak, so there’s very little natural light and limited internal light sources as Lang’s character has little to no need for it. Alvarez and Cinematographer Pedro Luque do a great job with the innovative way they light scenes and use their rambling, big house setting for maximum cat-and-mouse effect.

The only question that viewers may feel entitled to ask is “How can Blind Man do all the things he can?” Alvarez’s screenplay, which he co-wrote with Rodo Sayagues, certainly stretches his capabilities to the edge of credibility, but no less so than other great Horror genre icons such as Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees. (These guys were human in their initial outings but possessed by an evil that made them superior in their ability to withstand physical pain and transcend their environment. It's not hard to place “Blind Man” in this same category.)

Be warned, the longer DON'T BREATHE goes, the more challenging the story becomes as the full extent of Lang's character’s capability is revealed. There are several clever (but disturbing) twists that play out in the film’s second half and, unlike so many films in this genre, DON'T BREATHE doesn't afford the viewer an easy ending. Right up to the last frame of the film there is an all-pervading sense of uncertainty about whether the story is really over.

For all its rehashing of genre tropes and convoluted plot points, the “uncertainty concept” that takes the film through to its final frame is what makes DON'T BREATHE a thrilling breath of fresh air!

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